New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez has taken legal action against the Trump administration, accusing it of withholding Jeffrey Epstein-related records that he says are crucial to his investigation into the financier’s Zorro Ranch.
Torrez contends that federal officials are blocking his efforts to examine allegations tied to Epstein’s sprawling high-desert property in New Mexico, where accusers have said victims were trafficked.
In a court filing lodged Wednesday, Torrez alleged that acting Attorney General Todd Blanche has been “stonewalling” New Mexico’s inquiry into possible crimes connected to Epstein.
“Their conduct now actively harms victims and undermines the public interest,” Torrez wrote in the filing.
The attorney general has said access to unredacted Epstein files could be vital to building a case around potential misconduct at Zorro Ranch, arguing that the Justice Department’s refusal to provide the material marks a striking departure from normal practice.
In the filing, Torrez said his office has “faced sustained resistance to the type of information-sharing that has been routine from U.S.D.O.J. under prior administrations of both political parties.”
According to the New Mexico AG, the redacted documents conceal the names of Zorro Ranch employees and people within Epstein’s wider circle who could possess information about alleged crimes linked to the estate.
State officials in New Mexico revived their investigation into Zorro Ranch in February after newly surfaced Epstein records suggested the property had not been thoroughly examined in earlier probes.
The New Mexico Attorney General’s Office has sued the Trump administration over its refusal to provide unredacted Epstein files about Zorro Ranch to state officials. The pedophile is pictured at the property in this undated photo
Epstein’s sprawling Zorro Ranch, pictured, is situated on 7,500 acres of the property in Stanley, New Mexico, about 30 miles south of Santa Fe
A 60 Minutes Australia documentary revealed allegations of women killed during ‘rough, fetish sex’ at Zorro Ranch. Pictured is a living space in the ranch
The DOJ has pushed back on the AG’s claims, saying that the redactions are important to hide victims’ identities, and that they are a normal practice in such cases.
DOJ Spokeswoman Kiersten Pels said that a court order prohibits the ‘disclosure of victim-identifying information carte blanche, and New Mexico has provided no lawful basis to justify such sweeping disclosures.’
‘DOJ remains available to assist New Mexico’s investigation consistent with the law and binding court orders,’ Pels added.
White House Spokeswoman Lauren Bis told the Daily Mail in a statement: ‘Just as President Trump has said, he’s been totally exonerated on anything relating to Epstein.’
In 2019, federal investigators took over a state criminal investigation into Epstein’s ranch after arguing that they could build a stronger case against the convicted pedophile.
New Mexico officials claim that federal officials did not thoroughly investigate claims in the state as they did elsewhere, like in Manhattan, where Epstein had a residence, or in the US Virgin Islands, where his infamous island resort is located.
Emails released earlier this year in the Justice Department’s Epstein file trove showed that former New Mexico AG Hector Balderas expressed concern that the federal investigators overlooked potential crimes relating to Zorro Ranch.
That revelation prompted New Mexico lawmakers to create a bipartisan ‘truth commission’ focused on investigating potential wrongdoing at the ranch.
Zorro Ranch is mentioned over 10,000 times in the DOJ’s Epstein files, underscoring the importance of the residence to the late financier.
The investigation into the property gained new momentum earlier this year when documents released by the DOJ showed that an anonymous tip was sent to the FBI alleging that people were raped, killed and buried on the estate.
The most haunting claim from the anonymous tip, that has not been verified, is that two foreign girls ‘died by strangulation during rough, fetish sex.’
The tipster added that their alleged burial on the estate was ordered by Epstein.
